The Moto2 race of the Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna lived up to expectations this Sunday. While the top three were separated by three tenths during qualifying, Celestino Vietti replaced Joe Roberts at the start of the race to put on a show alongside Joe Roberts and Aron Canet, before clinching a victory on the line, by a handful of thousandths.
Moto2 will certainly not regret having held a second race at Misano this September, and the Italian fans, who witnessed the victory of one of their compatriots, will not disagree with this opinion.
While Tony Arbolino narrowly missed out on victory two weeks ago, the #14 didn't give in to the pressure at the start, and got alongside Aron Canet from the first corner of the race, to take the lead. Behind, Celestino Vietti also made a great start, to complete a top-3 that quickly broke away from the pack.
Throughout the 22 laps to go, the three men fought for the lead and made more or less costly mistakes in turn. On the last lap to go, it was Tony Arbolino who went wide, when he had already put a serious option on the victory. Aron Canet then made a slight approximation in the last corner, which allowed Celestino Vietti to gain a few meters on acceleration, in order to beat the Spaniard by half a tire on the finish line.
“From the beginning to the middle of the race I felt very good, entrusts Vietti after arrival. But with 8 laps to go I felt I could catch Tony and I tried to push."
A decision that could have compromised his race, because while he undoubtedly delivered one of his best performances in Moto2, Celestino Vietti's Sunday could have ended much worse. Having gone sideways twice, the VR46 Riders Academy rider narrowly avoided falling.
"I made a mistake with my braking and almost crashed, He continues. I made some mistakes, so I thought third would be okay. Then I saw Tony's mistakes and in the last corner I also saw Aron braking a lot and going over his braking point, so I went there to try to get him. I did it. I'm very happy, because last Sunday was a bit sad for us."
A result which allows the KTM Ajo rider to promote himself to 8th place in the Moto2 Riders ranking, and which has something to delight his leader and director of the eponymous team, Aki Ajo.
“Honestly, on the last lap I thought that whatever happens I will be happy, because it was so exciting. He had a great ride to get through just before the finish line. I am so happy for all the people who work with us. A win is always a win, but I am really happy for the group.” concludes the latter.
